On Friday, July 22nd, The Digital Arts Experience(DAE) will mark its fourth year in business with an open event at their education and training center in White Plains, as past and present students and their parents will gather with DAE staff to celebrate the occasion with refreshments, live music and hands-on demonstrations of new interactive technology. Each year, the DAE announces new courses, programs and resources, including the DAE Express Mobile Classroom, and a Makerspace featuring four 3D Printers and other maker-inspired equipment.

“Our anniversary party allows us to feature all of the new programs and technology we’ve made over the past year, and introduce our summer courses for youth in the region” says Director of Marketing & Communications and Co-Founder, Cristina Calabrese. “It’s hard to believe it’s been a year since we opened our new Makerspace, which has been so well received by parents and students who are so engaged in working with our 3D Printing and software programs we offer. We’ve also expanded our course offerings, and the DAE staff. It’s wonderful to meet so many talented and inspired individuals who share the same passions in digital art and STEM education as we do ”. The DAE stresses the importance of having kids learn new skills in a fun, highly interactive, non-competitive environment. At the 4th Anniversary Celebration, attendees will have a chance to tinker with 3D Printing, augmented reality and more, and parents can learn more about the DAE Summer STEM Camp programs that started July 5th for kids ages 6-18.

The DAE anniversary celebration is open to the public and is located at The Digital Arts Experience, 170 Hamilton Avenue in White Plains. Limited seating is available at $10 per ticket, and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to The Westchester Library System (WLS), which has been a close partner of The DAE since its opening.

These proceeds will all go towards supporting mini incentive grants that help libraries promote active learning and community engagement in their areas. These mini grants are integral to providing fantastic free programs to people of all ages in Westchester.

To register, visit DAE4Year.Eventbrite.com and RSVP or, for more information, contact The Digital Arts Experience at (914) 644-8100 or info@thedae.com

About The Digital Arts Experience (DAE)

The Digital Arts Experience was founded in 2012 in response to the increasing demand from students and their parents to help develop their interest in all things digital. Founder and President Rob Kissner recognized the opportunity to offer area youth a collaborative, creative community in which they could learn, explore, and share new ideas using cutting edge technology. Rob has turned this concept into a reality by bringing together instructors with skills and experience teaching digital arts to the youth population at DAE’s 8,000 sq foot state-of-the-art facility in White Plains.

The DAE offers students hands-on training and guidance in classrooms that offer them hands-on experience working with the most cutting edge creative software, a Makerspace with 3D printers and scanners, a fully equipped multimedia studio and more. In 2014, The DAE launched a new mobile STEM lab, dubbed The Digital Arts Express to meet the demands for after-school programs on-location in Westchester and Fairfield Counties. The DAExpress is focused on making The DAE’s cutting edge technology and STEM curriculum accessible to all youth in Westchester & Connecticut.

The DAE provides a unique, personalized experience for every student who enrolls in their after-school, school break or summer programs. DAE instructors are experienced and passionate about teaching digital arts to youth from age 6 through 21, and they are continuously involved with expanding The DAE course catalog with leading edge technology and teaching techniques. The DAE culture promotes innovation and engagement, and ensures that each student are able to access what they need to help further explore their creative passions. The DAE’s classes and camps provide students with opportunities to explore digital arts and the world of technology in a fun, collaborative and dynamic environment. For more information, visit www.TheDAE.com.

We’ve collected data from various sources to compile our own ‘Top 3 Hot STEM Careers’ list and how our programs in Westchester County, NY can give your child a head start.

The Digital Arts Experience of White Plains, NY strives to make STEM curriculum accessible to all youth in Westchester & Connecticut with cutting edge technology. The DAE provides a completely unique, personalized experience for every student who enrolls in our after-school, school break or summer programs. But first, here are a few quick facts about STEM Careers via The U.S. Department of Labor Blog:

The average wage for all STEM occupations is $85,570

7 out of the 10 largest STEM occupations are related to computers

There were over 8.3 million STEM jobs as of May 2014, representing about 6.2 percent of total U.S. employment

Several of the U.S. industries with the highest mean wages are STEM-related

Here’s our Top 3 List of STEM Careers to look out for:

1) Engineering

Entry Level Salary: $60,000+

Average Salary: $95,000+

Petroleum, Nuclear, Chemical, Electronics and Communications, Computer Science, Aerospace & Electrical and Material Science engineering are among the highest paying STEM careers for college graduates. Engineering by definition is the branch of science and technology concerned with the design, building, and use of engines, machines, and structures.

The goal of the class is to turn your digital CAD designs into physical objects. Using CAD software, students blueprint designs and must carefully and accurately measure to scale in order to produce a functional 3D model. This course explores the design and building aspect of engineering for creating physical structures.

This multidisciplinary program not only covers electrical engineering with an introduction to electronics, but also covers the computer programming language ‘Processing’. Students bridge digital and physical engineering by coding original video games and wiring their own controllers to be used in conjunction with the game. Finally, students tap into CAD design as well where they sketch out and design their own 3D cases for their controllers and 3D Print them.

2) Computer Programming

Entry Level Salary: $50,000+

Average Salary: $74,280+

A computer programmer is, in essence, a programmer, computer programmer, developer, dev, coder, or software engineer who writes computer software. At The Digital Arts Experience, we recognize the importance of learning a computer programming language at a young age. In this rapidly advancing technological world that we live in, having the ability to program a computer is going to be a basic essential literacy.

An intro course that is a great start for older students to begin programming using Java. Students will begin to look at Java programming and create their own games using the program, Greenfoot. These games can be either an original idea or a re-imagining of a classic. Components of Algebra, intergers, whole numbers and PEMDAS are applied.

Python is the perfect language to begin programming with actual code. It is written entirely in English and does not require abstract language or terminology, so it is easy to learn & understand. Students will start with writing simple programs and work towards programming text based games that will exercise their programming skills and develop fluency with Python. Math skills such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division as well as using whole numbers and negative exponents

Scratch is a tile-based visual platform that helps teach basic syntax and logic concepts that drive computer programming by users stacking command blocks together. It can be used to create virtually anything: from interactive stories and animations to video games. Students create their very own games, animations, cards and stories. Basic programming and math concepts such as event handlers, loops, conditions, operators and variables are taught.

An intro course designed to teach students the basics of iOS app development. Students in this course will learn both the basic language structure of Objective-C and the ins and outs of Apple’s free development tool Xcode, which is designed specifically to make programming iOS apps as simple as possible. By the end of the course, students will have completed several basic apps and will have the tools to continue designing apps in the future if they should desire.

3) Web Developer

Entry Level Salary: $51,000+

Average Salary: $66,000+

With a projected 20% increase over the next 10 years, web development jobs are quickly increasing by the thousands. From back end development to front facing web design, user experience, and more. Web Developer tasks include:

Web Development combines elements from both the creative and technical world. In this class, students will learn how to build a website from the ground up using HTML & CSS, and explore the design aspects of putting together a stunning and modern looking site. Students will complete the class with their very own, customized sites.

Javascript is the life-blood of Web Development. It’s how we bring life to ordinary websites by making them interactive and engaging. In this course, you will learn how to write Javascript code, manipulate web pages, and build complex web applications. Along the way, students will be introduced to jQuery, a powerful JS library, and build at least 2 working web applications. By the end of the course, students will have gained the skills necessary to create their own web applications, as well as, implement their own custom Javascript into existing projects.

These numbers are in no way meant to be absolute. They’ve been collected from various websites and outlets which have all been properly credited and this Top 3 list is simply conclusions we’ve made based on that data.

All in all, it is evident that STEM Education is becoming more and more integral towards the future of careers. With proper early education in these fields, kids will surely have a head start and an advantage among their peers.

The DAE is currently enrolling for Summer STEM Camp beginning July 5th and running all throughout the entire summer. Sign up for 1 or 2 weeks for a full or half day! Learn more at: http://www.thedae.com/summer-stem-camps.

The DAE’s classes and camps provide students with opportunities to explore digital arts and the world of technology in a fun, collaborative and dynamic environment.

Students at The Digital Arts Experience in Westchester, NY working on the tile-based Scratch programming language, developed by MIT.

In this blog entry, we are going to shine the spotlight on one of our most popular class topics: Computer Programming & Coding. At The Digital Arts Experience, we recognize the importance of learning a computer programming language at a young age. In this rapidly advancing technological world that we live in, having the ability to program a computer is going to be a basic essential literacy.

The computer programming languages that we teach are HTML/CSS, Java, Javascript, Processing, Python, Ruby & Scratch. Let’s take a closer look at our class description for each topic:

Web Development combines elements from both the creative and technical world. In this class, students will learn how to build a website from the ground up using HTML & CSS, and explore the design aspects of putting together a stunning and modern looking site. Students will complete the class with their very own, customized sites.

An intro course that is a great start for older and younger students to begin programming using Java. Students will begin to look at Java programming and create their own games using the program, Greenfoot. These games can be either an original idea or a re-imagining of a classic.

Javascript is the life-blood of Web Development. It’s how we bring life to ordinary websites by making them interactive and engaging. In this course, you will learn how to write Javascript code, manipulate web pages, and build complex web applications. Along the way, students will be introduced to jQuery, a powerful JS library, and build at least 2 working web applications. By the end of the course, students will have gained the skills necessary to create their own web applications, as well as, implement their own custom Javascript into existing projects.

This course will explore taking programming off of the computer screen. An Arduino Microcontroller will be used together with Processing code to create interactive programs. These programs will have visual components from Processing and physical components from the Arduino.

Python is the perfect language to begin programming with actual code. It is written entirely in English and does not require abstract language or terminology, so it is easy to learn & understand. Students will start with writing simple programs and work towards programming text based games that will exercise their programming skills and develop fluency with Python.

This course will cover all of the basics of computer programming using the powerful Ruby language. Since its inception in 1993, Ruby has grown to become one of the largest scripting languages in the world, sought out by many employers. Throughout the course, students will learn how to write simple yet effective code, learning the core concepts of program creation in the process. By the end of the course, students will have completed 3 working programs, and a small text-based Role Playing Game.

Scratch is a tile-based visual platform that helps teach basic syntax and logic concepts that drive computer programming by users stacking command blocks together. It can be used to create virtually anything: from interactive stories and animations to video games. Students create their very own games, animations, cards and stories. Basic programming concepts such as event handlers, loops, conditions, operators and variables are taught.

Students complete class tutorials that teach and reinforce programming concepts in a way that fosters critical thinking, time management and problem solving. They also employ design thinking, creating their own games on paper and seeing them through to their digital conception.

For the Fall of 2016, we are working on curriculum for App Development using the Swift language as well as several more advanced coding classes.

Join us next Thursday, June 16th from 5-7PM for Open House where you can tour our facility, meet our instructors and view student work. Learn more about our Summer STEM programs here by visiting our website.

About The Digital Arts Experience

The Digital Arts Experience (The DAE) was founded in 2012 to meet the need for students to help them develop their interest in all things digital. Founder and president Rob Kissner recognized the opportunity to offer youth a collaborative, creative community, in which they could learn, explore, and share new ideas using cutting edge technology. Rob has turned this concept into a reality by bringing together an outstanding group of instructors at our 8,000 sq foot state-of-the-art facility in White Plains, New York.

The Digital Arts Experience offers students fully equipped classrooms featuring the latest creative software, a makerspace with 3D printers and scanners, a photo and video studio, a recording studio and more. In 2014, DAE launched a new mobile tech lab, dubbed The Digital Arts Express (The DAExpress), to meet the demand for after-school programs on-location in Westchester and Fairfield Counties. The DAExpress is focused on making The DAE’s cutting edge technology and curriculum accessible to all youth in Westchester & Connecticut. The DAE provides a completely unique, personalized experience for every student who enrolls in their after-school, school break or summer programs.

The DAE’s instructors are experienced and passionate about teaching digital arts to kids ages 6 and up, and they are continuously involved with expanding the DAE course catalog with leading edge technologies and teaching techniques. DAE culture promotes innovation and engagement, and ensures each student is able to access what they need to help explore their creative passions. DAE classes and camps provide students with opportunities to explore digital arts and the world of technology in a fun, collaborative and dynamic environment.

5 Ways Your Kids Can Have an Enriching Summer

And you too!

A few tips for staying active and engaged this summer.

It’s that time of the year again. The weather is heating up, the ice cream truck is making its rounds and school is out. In today’s tech world, making sure your kids stay active and engaged this summer can be more challenging than ever.

Here are 5 ways your kids can have an enriching summer, learn new things and still have fun in the sun.

Compromise on Indoor Activities

Sometimes kids want to stay indoors and play video games all day while it’s a perfect Ferris Bueller day outside. That’s okay. Just like adults, kids also fall into different moods depending on the day. Don’t try to fight it. Think of it as an outlet for kids. Video games serve as a great escape, stress reliever and have proven to help train the brain to become more agile and improve strategic thinking.

Moderation

Of course with any indoor activity should come moderation. Especially in the summer. Vitamin D has proven to improve one’s overall mental well-being. Make sure to regulate your kid’s indoor time by balancing it out with outdoor activities. Even something as simple as going out to grab a smoothie or some ice cream can serve as an “excuse” to get some fresh air.

Reward Your Kids

Going hand in hand with moderation, reward your kids for good behavior. For the times they actually do shut off their video games or put their phone down when you ask them to, make it known that you appreciate it. As stated earlier, in this tech world, we live in a world of not only instant gratification but constant distraction too. There are plenty of fun activities that you can do together. Have fun and experience new things with your kids. You’ll find that it is just as rewarding to yourself, too.

Engage in Their Interests

There are plenty of both indoor and outdoor summer camps that meet your kid’s interests. Nowadays, there are camps for just about everything! Language camps, sports camps, tech camps, sleepaway camps and countless others. Talk to your kids. Find out what they are passionate about. Are they obsessed with Minecraft? Flip that around and make it educational. There’s plenty of Summer Tech camps that teach kids how to code using Minecraft.

5. Be patient

Before you know it, your kids will be all grown up and ready to leave for college. One day you’ll sit back and reflect on how it all went by so fast. Remember to breathe. Live in the present and enjoy the now. Appreciate every sunny day, but also find good in the rainy ones too. Create lasting memories with your kids that’ll enrich their lives and form strong bonds with you.

The Digital Arts Experience is a learning center that specializes in extra-curricular STEM classes and camps in the greater Westchester area. They offer classes in computer programming with Scratch, Python & Java, 3D printing, 3D animation, 3D game design and much more. To learn more about the Digital Arts Experience, please visit theDAE.com.

Join us next Tuesday, May 17th for Open House from 5-7PM! Stop by at any time to explore our facility, meet our friendly staff of instructors, and learn about our exciting, cutting-edge Summer STEM camps for kids.

We will have our facility set up like a trade show with instructors at different stations so that you can ask questions and view student work!

Our Summer STEM Camps begin July 5th and run all the way through to Labor Day. Students can choose to attend for a half day – either morning or afternoon, or a full day with lunch break in the middle. Sessions run for 2 weeks total, but you can opt to only attend 1 week depending on your schedule.

So stop on by and check out what we are all about this coming Tuesday!

Join The Digital Arts Experience Thursday, June 18th anytime between 5-7PM for Open House showcasing our fun and exciting summer STEM and tech programs for kids and teens in Westchester County.

Our facility will be set up like a trade show with instructors ready to talk about different programs and showcase past student work. Sign up during Open House and receive 10% off of your summer enrollment.

The Digital Arts Experience aims to provide a unique opportunity for the kids & teens of the Westchester, Rockland and Fairfield communities to explore the world of creative technology, digital art, STEM related fields and more!

Our programs are goal oriented and focus on hands on learning so each and every student will complete his or her class with incredible original work that can go towards creating a portfolio.

We strive to expose our students to the digital world in order to help them discover new talents and possible career paths.

E-mail info@TheDAE.com to RSVP for Open House!

Join us for Open House on June 18th to learn more about our Summer STEM & tech programs!